Final Post-Summary

Throughout the process of blogging about my entrepreneurial idea I learned just how great of a role that technology plays in all facets of the idea. Furthermore, blogging in conjunction with the IST195 class has allowed me to implement the abstract ideas learned in class and make them applicable to the real wold situations as proposed in my entrepreneurial idea. I have also benefited from consistently blogging which has inspired me to become a more avid blogger in other subjects and consumer of other blogs which has allowed me to become a more well-rounded student.


When I started this blog I thought that my idea was far fetched and perhaps unachievable. I was unsure how anything learned in lecture would actually be applicable to my idea. Nevertheless, as each week progressed I learned just how integral even the most basic concepts in IST195 would be influential in shaping my idea and making it possible.


The blogs that I commented on I found were of particular interest to me and really had solid grasps on how exactly they would be integrating technology concepts into their different ideas.

http://ist195lookalike.blogspot.com

http://atasteofsweetsonthego.blogspot.com

http://krissieoja.blogspot.com

I really enjoyed that this project was both abstract and practical and that it allowed me to think about how technology is actually used in getting an idea off the ground. I also thoroughly enjoyed blogging about such interesting topics! Furthermore, I found that getting comments on my posts was a great way to step back and look at my idea through fresh eyes and see the project in a new way. 

Review Post

As fashion and technology get more integrated with one another, there are a number of blogs popping up about the fusion of these two opposite worlds. As the New York Times blog, Bits, points out: " It is, perhaps, unsurprising that it took big tech companies so long to venture into fashion. Tech types are not necessarily known for their fashion sense..." The Bits blog adds that while some buyers might still prefer traditional shopping, there is a large market of online shoppers that would be receptive to technology woven into the fashion industry. 

The blog also taught me that large tech companies like Google are seeing the value of tapping the fashion world and are starting to introduce new and innovative ways to shop online. Google's boutique.com was launched last year and features items picked by designers and celebrities. Boutique.com features search, image recognition, and filtering to enhance shopping by bringing a more technical aspect to online shopping. Ebay and Amazon are also working to venture into high fashion in different ways. 

Also mentioned in Bits was the website, gotryiton.com that allows people to post pictures of themselves in clothes that they intend to purchase so that they may get opinions from others. Similar to my idea, this website combines technology, social media, and fashion to revamp today's shopping experience for many. 

Overall, I was intrigued to read about other things happening in the fusion between fashion and technology and the efforts being made to combine the two industries. I believe that the fashion world will be greatly transformed by innovations such as these in the near future. 

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/17/tech-companies-venture-into-fashion/

Week 6- Operating Systems

This week in class we discussed the operating systems of computers and the differences between them. Because the operating system is what manages hardware and software resources, it will be important for my technology to have a good operating system that will most easily accommodate the tasks of the mirror. The GUI will have to be one that is user friendly as it will be used by customers and the technology will be dependent on interaction with the customers. The OS will also manage the process and memory in the mirror which will be vital to its function.

While I recently just switched from a pc to a mac, I feel that a pc would probably be more familiar to the masses and therefore a better OS to use for the mirror. In addition, due to similar technologies in the Microsoft Surface, I would feel comfortable with the windows OS being capable of handling the technology of the mirror.

I do not think that there would be much market for a mobile OS for the mirror which would mean that there would need to be no considerations made to accommodate smartphones. 

Week 5- Bits and Bytes

This week we had an exam in class. While I will not be giving customers an exam on their knowledge of the mirror, it would be a good idea to test the mirror itself to make sure that it is working properly. System tests to maintain functionality would be important to the operation of the mirror. Testing often would prevent errors from inhibiting the mirror from operation for too long. It would also be important that testing would be completely inclusive in the technology to make sure that no small error goes unnoticed. Testing would be especially necessary in the beginning stages of development and before production but would need to remain a part of the maintenance program as well.

In lecture, we talked about bits and bytes this week. Bits and bytes are the most fundamental aspects of the computer's language which allows it to operate. Knowledge of how big a bit and byte are and how information needed to be stored in the mirror will help me determine how much hard disk space and RAM will be necessary to keep the mirror running quickly. In addition, the mirror will need to utilize ASCII and Unicode so that the mirror will recognize more than just the english language. It will also be important that the mirror has 16 bit color because anything lower would not provide the desired clarity in the image and would make the product less marketable.

All that we learned this week will help me get more detailed about the production of my mirror and help me to make the product better in the end. In addition, it is always good to know the fundamentals of any project and the computer that will run the mirror is based on bits and bytes so it is necessary to have knowledge of these aspects of the technology.

Week 4- Input/Output

This week’s lecture is particularly pertinent to my project idea because my product will have to make use of input and output for it to work. I think that the way the mirror would identify what a shopper has brought into a dressing room would be through RFID tags. This would be more efficient than barcode scanning items and would require less work on the part of the customer. The RFID tags could be passive tags, as they would not need to work more than a few meters away from the mirror that would house the antenna, which would be reading the data on the RFID tags.

The mirror would most likely be touch screen to utilize the social media functions of the product. As such, it would be necessary to include a touchpad in the design. The touch pad would incorporate the detection of capacitance to allow the user to interact with the mirror.

Finally, during the designing process, there would need to be special attention paid to the resolution of the image being projected on the mirror. Fuzzy images due to a small number of megapixels in the captured image would be unacceptable. The optimal shopping experience would incorporate the best quality images possible to ensure the customer feels that they are getting the a shopping experience closest to that of the real experience of trying clothes on, without the hassle. 

Week 3- System Unit and Computer Forensics

The topic of the week was hardware. As a technology based entrepreneurial idea, it is necessary that my product have all the necessary hardware to keep the system running fast and efficiently. Let’s face it, no one will use the product if it takes to long to use and that is a terrible marketing idea. With that in mind, it would be absolutely vital for proper configuration of my computer based technology.

The mirror would have to coordinate several processes such as scanning the items brought into the room, taking a picture of the customer, portraying the simulation of the customer with the clothes on, and then allowing the customer to share that image on social media websites. With so many advanced processes being used it would be important to have a high quality processor that could work quickly to execute the demands of the customer.

Yet again we talked about cyber security in class, however, this time we focused on the fact that data exists on a hard disk until that disk is physically destroyed. In addition to the need for the Smart Mirror to function efficiently, the mirror would also need to take into account the customers need to protect their identity. There would need to be security measures taken to ensure that no one could access the pictures taken by the mirror after that customer has left. It would also be important that malicious users who could potentially recover the personal data using computer forensics programs widely available on the market do not exploit data that was deleted by the customer but still remains on the hard disk.

Week 2- Privacy in Social Media

Though our lecture this week was on privacy on social media sites like Facebook, the issue of privacy should also be addressed in my project as well because of the interaction with Facebook and Twitter built into the product.  As I mentioned before in my previous post, the Smart Mirror would utilize social media sites to allow customers using the product to save a picture of their projected image in the clothes that they “tried on” via the Smart Mirror and post it to their profile on their favorite social media site.

This mirror would be yet another way that the world is becoming less and less private by introducing social media into yet another aspect of our lives.  By introducing social media into our shopping experiences it would be shrinking the world without social media yet again. This could possibly be initially interpreted poorly with skeptics criticizing the product for its intrusiveness into the lives of shoppers. Nevertheless, I feel that people of my generation would fully appreciate the aspect that allows the customer to share their experience with others. As with other new technologies that were previously reviewed poorly, I feel that this would eventually be accepted by most and become something that people truly appreciate in their day-to-day lives.

The Smart Mirror would be using social media to get customers to interact more with the product and as such there would need to be certain privacy settings in place to ensure that no one is putting images of themselves on Twitter and Facebook that they would not like others to see.  There would need to be necessary measures taken to guarantee that no ones privacy would be at risk because of the product as well. Accordingly, there would also need to be some sort of disclosure to customers using the social media aspect of the mirror warning them to protect their privacy as much as possible. 

Week 1- Project Idea

When tasked with finding an entrepreneurial idea I admit I was a little lost so I decided to explore a topic I know, fashion.  Recently I read a very interesting article about a new “Smart Mirror” designed at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University Institute of Textiles and Clothing. This mirror is meant to be installed in dressing rooms of clothing stores where the mirror will recognize items brought into rooms and make suggestions to buyers acting as an inanimate shopping consultant. My idea stems from the idea of the Smart Mirror.  Knowing how inconvenient it is to try on several different things only to take them off again, isn’t it about time that we could stand in front of a mirror and see the image of what we want to try on projected in front of us without ever having to put it on?  In addition, the mirror should allow you to save a picture of the outfit which you can then message to a friend, share with your followers on Twitter, or post as a mobile upload to your Facebook profile. The world of shopping is in dire need of a new, smarter mirror.

The evolution of computers has made it possible for so much more than anyone imagined the descendants of the Mark I would be able to do.  Moore’s Law tells us that the power of computing will double every 24 months and this trend shows no sign of stopping. No longer are computers 5 tons. The portability of computers has enabled developers to reach to computerize just about anything from touch screen cell phones to review mirrors in which you can check the weather and read your email.   Because of this, I feel that it is not out of reach to develop a product such as the one I have proposed.

Just as the power of computers has increased tremendously in the years since their inception, the power and influence of social media is constantly growing.  Installing a social media feature in the Smart Mirror would make the product more engaging for the mass amounts of social media enthusiasts who would be using the product. In addition, using social media would be a fantastic way to advertise the new product and give clothing companies reason to invest in the product.